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When do rats reach sexual maturity?

5K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  zipper469 
#1 ·
My rat and my roommates rat had babies on mother's day (how sweet!). There are 3 girls and 1 boy. The little guy is mine. They are still feeding, but should be done sometime this coming weekend. Zipper's balls have gotten QUITE large and my roommate is afraid that he will try to mate with the other rats. I don't think that will happen just yet. He's the runt of the group and just an all around shy little guy. My roommate wants me to put him in a separate cage today, but like I said, they are still feeding. Also they have been eating rat food and veggies and such.

What do you think I should do?
 
#2 ·
Five weeks. Though, sometimes people separate at four weeks to be safe. If I were in your shoes, I'd separate the little guy out now and start to introduce him to his father so that he can live with him, assuming that his father was separated from the mother before birth. Otherwise, get ready for another litter.

No matter the rat, no matter the situation, rats can complete a successful mate in the blink of an eye, and can do so at a very young age.
 
#4 ·
5 weeks or a little over is best...that period of 4-5 weeks is actually vital to the social skills and wellbeing of little ratlings to stay with mom and siblings.

As for babies being introduced to full grown adults ,you have to be VERY careful, as a male may not consider the baby as a rat but as prey and kill it. It happens, and its not worth it. I usually intro babies at 6-8 weeks of age to a male adult. Females can often be intro'd a little earlier.
 
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